Tag Archives: Hiroshima Prize

An elderly man lives alone in a single room above an ever-rising sea, smoking his pipe and reflecting quietly. One day, he accidentally drops his pipe through a hatch in the floor, prompting an unusual purchase–a diving suit! And once the man has begun his descent through the flooded levels of his home, he finds himself remembering, reliving his life in reverse from times with his grandchildren to his daughter’s growing up to early memories of his wife. It’s no wonder he chooses to stay in a place so rich with memory, even if he must fight the floodwaters to do so.

Wow, speaking of floodwaters . . . I cried buckets in the short time it took to watch this anime short film. I cried at least as much on the second viewing, possibly more. It’s just that sort of story. The sepia-toned, granulated illustration style carries an immediately nostalgic feel. And the music is just perfect–beautiful and enchanting, reflective without being depressing. I loved that the entire short was completely without dialogue; no translation needed for the universal impact of the story. I also loved the way the story challenged my perceptions–I started out feeling sorry for a lonely old man and ended up nostalgically happy knowing that he had a good life, people who loved him however crotchety he may have been. Incidentally, I also liked the way the illustrations reminded me of Shaun Tan’s illustrations; it’s quite a nice and unusual style. Seriously, The House of Small Cubes is less that 15 minutes long, so there’s no reason to not at least give it a try. Highly recommended.

Written by Kenya Hirata/Directed by Kunio Katō/Produced by Masanori Kusakabe & Yuko Hata/Music by Kenji Kondo